There are many ways to DIY your holiday celebration this year, but handmade stockings are one of my absolute favorites. When I see the time and care put into every single detail and stitch on a handmade stocking – no matter how old and worn it is – I just can’t help but feel the love behind it. For me, nothing brings forth more happy holiday memories than unpacking my childhood stocking, so I can’t think of a more perfect way to share joy of the season, year after year, with someone you love!

Step 3: Using the paper hole punch, cut out 11 red dots. You may need to use fabric or embroidery scissors to complete the cuts if your punch isn’t very sharp.

Step 4: Select one of the gray felt stocking pieces for the front, making sure the toe is pointed toward the right when it’s facing you. Using straight pins, secure the first (dark green) tree and tree stump in place. Make sure the top of the tree stump is tucked under the tree.

Step 5: With 2 strands of dark green embroidery floss (each length of embroidery floss is made up of 6 individual strands), straight stitch around the edge of the tree with small, even stitches. Do the same straight stitch around the edges of the tree stump.

Step 6: Pin the second (light green) tree and stump in place and straight stitch around the edges of both using the same method that you did for the first tree.

Step 7: Using a split stitch with 3 strands of gray embroidery floss, zigzag a line of stitches across the tree from top to bottom. If you have trouble sewing in a straight line, you can lightly mark the path with tailor’s chalk before starting. This line will be the cord for the Christmas lights on the tree.

Step 8: Pin the third (dark green) tree and stump in place and straight stitch around both like you did in Steps 5 and 6.

Step 9: Place the red dots on the lines that you stitched in Step 7 and loosely baste them in place using 1 strand of white embroidery floss. These stitches are only intended to hold the dots in place while you are sewing around them. The white floss will be removed once the dots are secured, so don’t knot the ends. I’ve included both a front and back view to give you a better idea of the basting method that I used.

Step 10: Straight stitch around the edge of each dot. Once the dots are secured, pull on the white embroidery floss to remove the basting stitch.

Step 11: Pin the white circles for the snowman in place and straight stitch around one piece at a time, layering each piece on top of the one before it.

Step 12: Using 1 strand of white embroidery floss, place the orange nose on the snowman and baste it in place. Use the face printed on the snowman pattern to make sure the nose is in the right spot. Using 2 strands of orange embroidery floss, straight stitch around the edge of the nose.

Step 13: Open the eye and mouth holes on the face pattern with a straight pin, then use a fine point marker to mark the face onto the felt though the holes that you just made.

Step 14: Using 3 strands of black embroidery floss, make French knots for the eyes and mouth. To make the eyes bigger, you can wrap the floss around the needle a few extra times.

Step 15: Add arms to the snowman by split stitching with 6 strands of brown embroidery floss. Again, feel free to sketch the arms with tailor’s chalk before you sew.

Step 16: Decorate the trees and dress the snowman.

First tree: Add tinsel to the tree by backstitching in a zigzag pattern with 3 strands of silver metallic embroidery floss.

Second tree: Sew the decorative colored buttons onto the second tree with 2 strands of green embroidery floss to make ornaments.

Third tree: Evenly distribute the white seed beads across the tree and sew them in place with two strands of white embroidery floss.

Snowman: Stitch three black buttons onto the snowman with two strands of black embroidery floss.

Step 17: With right sides facing, pin a red flannel stocking piece to both gray stocking pieces. On the front piece, the red flannel should cover the side of the gray felt that contains the trees and snowman.

Step 18: Using a 1/4″ seam allowance (hand stitching is okay too), sew across the top of each flannel and felt pair.

Step 19: On both side pieces of the stocking, fold the flannel over the top of the felt stocking piece so that wrong sides are facing and the seam you just sewed is now between the two pieces. Once the felt and flannel are lined up on both, put the two sides of the stocking together with flannel sides facing and pin in place or hold with fabric clips.

Step 20: Using evenly spaced stitches, whipstitch the two stocking sides together around the edge using 2 strands of red embroidery floss.

Step 21: Finish the stocking by hand sewing the decorative ribbon loop into the left side seam and reinforcing the stitches at the top edges of the stocking with a few extra whipstitches.

About the Author:

Haley Pierson-Cox is a Brooklyn-based craft writer who loves granny glasses and loathes extraneous apostrophes. She blogs about crafts, cats, domestic bliss, and DIY goodness at The Zen of Making.